40k commute, reliability and rain

S

sshrinivasan

New Member
Hi all, just joined this forum. I'm in the market for a e-bike to replace a car. I live in Vancouver, so a rain proof bike is absolutely necessary. My commute is 20 km each way, basically flat. My requirements are
* Must be reliable, with good long lasting parts. I am not a bike DIY-er, so will just be able to do very basic repairs myself
* Must be water proof completely
* I prefer fast and a higher top speed vs low end torque, since I have no hills.
* Budget about $3k CDN

So for I have narrowed it down to
* Giant Explore E+1 (2020 model) or Giant Quick E+ (Pros: Lots of local support, and known brand, Shimano Deore parts. Cons: smaller battery, expensive)
* Juiced CCS 52V/21Ah (Pros: Huge battery and speed, very popular. Cons: No local support except maybe one LBS, questionable Shimano Altus drivetrain, very questionable service in Vancouver)
* Magnum Metro+ (havent test ridden yet, but may be underpowered and smaller battery)
* RadPower Radcity (discounted this due to low end parts, doubtful will manage 40 km daily commutes)
* VoltBike Bravo (local company, but parts seem pretty lower end as does the battery. Not sure it will last long)

What does the community think?
 
Welcome aboard and good luck!

Sure some will chime in; I have no experience with those models to offer an opinion.
 
I've found LCD displays leak in the rain. The simple one with a red yellow & green LED to show battery voltage seems to tolerate a lot of water, and comes back with a hair dryer after shorting out in a huge rain.
Fast flat terrain, low wear motor indicates direct drive hub motor. Only thing to go wrong in those is the 2 bearings, and they are a standard bearing available from industrial supplies. Rad uses DD, I think magnum is geared hub motor which is better at hills but wears out in a coupla years ~ 10000 miles.
I'm suspicious of rain resistance any bike with a vertically mounted battery under the seat or in the triangle tube. One end or the other will catch water. I built my own battery mount out of aluminum angle you see left. The luna triangle battery is wrapped with one piece of packing foam (from a new TV) with the seam at the bottom taped up. Then it is wrapped with a (green) PVC bag with the seam on the bottom taped up. The wires come out the back end looping down to make the rain drip off. It rains here more than Seattle, my bike is out most of the time. No shorts. The controller is also under the seat with the wires pointed down where the drips fall off.
With >40 hills, some 15%, and gross weight of 320 when I carry supplies, my 48 v 17 AH battery is 40% used up in 30 miles with me pedaling unpowered 2/3 of the way (the flatter parts). Nothing like the range people quote on here. Wind is a problem here too, now that the globe has warmed.
I've had shimano 7 speed rear derailleur setups come unscrewed and drop the balls while I was out on the road. Pushing the bike home with missing bearings is no fun. Was that a deore? Bad design IMHO. No counter-lock nut, no over sized flange to back the race up against to lock it. Hundreds of thousands of these sold every year, very few ridden 5000 miles like I do my bikes.
Any mid drive will wear out chains, the more rear sprockets the faster the wear due to thinner chain.
Have fun shopping.
 
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Regarding the two Giant models, for your purpose I would say the Quick-E+ would be preferable to the Explore-E+1. While the Quick-E+ does not have a suspension fork, it makes up for that with wider rims and tires. The rims and tires and lack of a suspension fork will offer more durability and lower maintenance.
 
Go with your favorite Giant model.....by far and away the most support. The Yamaha motor is worth its weight in gold. Good luck....Ebikes are AMAZING!!!
 
Ebikes are quite dangerous in the rain, unless you have good or very good ebike handling skills in the rain and specific tires.
 
Nova Haibike said:
Regarding the two Giant models, for your purpose I would say the Quick-E+ would be preferable to the Explore-E+1. While the Quick-E+ does not have a suspension fork, it makes up for that with wider rims and tires. The rims and tires and lack of a suspension fork will offer more durability and lower maintenance.
Click to expand...
Do you have any concern about riding in the rain, and having a battery exposed?
 
sshrinivasan said:
* I prefer fast and a higher top speed vs low end torque, since I have no hills.
* Budget about $3k CDN
Click to expand...

You should check out OHM E-bikes in Vancouver.

Since you have no hills, you will have no problem reaching 45kmpr on their Sport model.
The DD hub motor will last a long time. They do have support for BionX and have already designed a system that could replace the BionX motor+controller.




Another place you should check out is Citrus Cycles and meet with Kelly.

http://citruscycles.ca/

Check out his videos on youtube and may be he can find the right bike for your budget.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLuFhFGTg9utX3DH5j1iV-Q/videos
 
I dunno @Ebiker01 -- I don't personally believe "the ebike" is explicitly more dangerous than a pedal bike, out in the rain -- it still comes down to the rider's proactive, defensive riding and control, and adjusting their riding behavior to suit the conditions... ie, road conditions should dictate how you operate the bike safely at any given time, regardless of whether that's an ebike or pedal bike.

I've ridden my ebike several times where I was caught in rain, and I adjust my ride behavior accordingly to the new conditions; I felt no added risk/threat of an incident, vs my dry rides...
But if I didn't alter my riding behavior in the rain (vs. dry) I'd likely introduce greater risk of accident for myself.
 
sshrinivasan said:
Do you have any concern about riding in the rain, and having a battery exposed?
Click to expand...
I ride in rain all the time. I quit driving, except U-haul vans, in 2008. I have knobby Kenda tires to prevent flats. The disk brakes make them work in the rain, as opposed to rim brakes that have about 20% capability after riding through a puddle. I use bright flashing lights, yellow clothing, and stay off 60 mph highways in really vile rainstorms. The worst rain where the throttle/display quit working was in January, about 3 inches over two days. I rode out to my country property 27 miles out to check on a problem, at 65 deg F. I had hoped the motor would assist me on the way home; No such luck with the waterlogged throtle/display. I was still using DD hub motor then, which drug all the way home.
I don't ride when Ice is on the road, particularly glare ice. I will ride on fresh fluffy snow, but not after the city has piled it all up in the bike lane. In dry cold I ride down to 0 F with wind up to 40 mph.
My battery is wrapped up: I'm not worried about it. No contacts are at the low point unlike some commercial bikes. I don't ride through water higher than the motor rim. No contacts or commutator are in the motor to corrode. I'm not afraid of rain - I wear clothes. I was in the US Army; they motor in all weather. I carry a light jacket and a $1 yellow poncho to handle weather forecast failures, which are frequent here.
 
Yes , based on your reply you definitely know how to ride. Many people lack the understanding of ebikes greater power and common sense for adjusting they riding behavior in harsh conditions.
B/c the ebikes have such a much greater torque and pull due to the motor power is easy to loose grip on rear tire if not adjusting speed/Pas level. Especially cornering , handling painted surfaces.

I would also recommend Bh Easy motion brand , is not in your choices but right now you can get some good deals on the 2018/2019 models. Well only the Nitro city is a S pedelec 30mph beast with a 600wh battery.
For total reliability i would go with(in no particilar order):
-OHM, Aurora, BH, Haibike, Magnum

Less reliability and very likely a source of issues and headaches :
-Radpower, Juiced
 
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Ebiker01 said:
Yes , based in your reply you definitely know how to ride. Many people lack the understanding of ebikes greater power and common sense.
B/c the ebikes have such a much greater torque and pull due to the motor power is easy to loose grip on rear tire if not adjusting speed/Pas level. Especially cornering , handling painted surfaces.

I would also recommend Bh Easy motion brand , is not in your choices but right now you can get some good deals on the 2018/2019 models. Well only the Nitro city is a S pedelec 30mph beast with a 600wh battery.
For total reliability i would go with(in nonparticilar order):
-OHM, Aurora, BH, Haibike, Magnum

Less reliability and very likely a source of issues and headaches :
-Radpower, Juiced
Click to expand...
How about Giant?
 
If it has at least a 600wh battery and is less then 2.5k -3k max. is worth it. I see that it has local dealer which helps a lot. I see that the 2020 model is really nice but close to 4k US $ with taxes. That is imo too much. I would make sure i insure it, park it indoors, install gps on it, and have Abus locks for it.
You may be able to get a good deal on a 2019 model but both have only a 500wh battery right ? Definitely the 2019 bot aure for 2020.
That is the priority- battery capacity. Unless you weight less then 155lb which you may or may not?. For a 185lb weight and up is a must a 600wh battery for the riding you need done. And you will atill need to charge it at the end of the 20km commute(If you ride above 24mph).

Other great choice is the Magnum Peak. Has 600wh battery. A bit inferior in terms of components then Giant or a Bh but i heard that it is reliable.
You will be riding at 24-26mph average and a 500wh will be either less then 30% or close to empty in 15 miles on flat road if your weight with backpack is 175-195lb.
 
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Ravi Kempaiah said:
You should check out OHM E-bikes in Vancouver.

Since you have no hills, you will have no problem reaching 45kmpr on their Sport model.
The DD hub motor will last a long time. They do have support for BionX and have already designed a system that could replace the BionX motor+controller.




Another place you should check out is Citrus Cycles and meet with Kelly.

http://citruscycles.ca/

Check out his videos on youtube and may be he can find the right bike for your budget.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLuFhFGTg9utX3DH5j1iV-Q/videos
Click to expand...
I do like OHM, but a bit out of my price range!
 
Ravi Kempaiah said:
You should check out OHM E-bikes in Vancouver.

Since you have no hills, you will have no problem reaching 45kmpr on their Sport model.
The DD hub motor will last a long time. They do have support for BionX and have already designed a system that could replace the BionX motor+controller.




Another place you should check out is Citrus Cycles and meet with Kelly.

http://citruscycles.ca/

Check out his videos on youtube and may be he can find the right bike for your budget.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLuFhFGTg9utX3DH5j1iV-Q/videos
Click to expand...
Listen to Ravi: I know if I ever buy another HUB motor bike it will be an OHM 500 MTN or similar. Check out their site....they have some frame sizes on sale at approx 3200 cdn
 
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